A Poem: Waking to God’s World

And God gave us the world,
and it was good.
In that
the trees and the flowers
bid us welcome.
The wild received us, laying out its table.
The oceans rolled toward us.
The sky lit her canvas.
And the birds in the foliage flew and sang,
eloquent in poetry.

And God gave us one another,
and that was good.
Even better.
In that the trees and the flowers
became a backdrop.
The wild an entry point with its generous
promise.
The ocean, a wide welcome mat.
The sky, an encompassment.
And the birds, gracious ushers

to this holiness of
beholding one another,
skin recognising skin,
smile mirroring smile,
laughter and love its own atmosphere
rising into a twilight sky.
And rest and sleep
conscious of
blessing abundant into the next day,

waking to God’s world.

Ana Lisa de Jong
Living Tree Poetry
October 2022

Written during a visit to New Plymouth with family to visit family.